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Guide Home > Scripture and Influential Writings > Book of Mormon > Witnesses
Additional TopicsThe following are additional topic areas related to Witnesses. If there is a bracket number after the topic, that number indicates how many actual articles there are related to that subject. If the link for the topic is not live, it simply means the topic is a 'planned area' for future growth. FAIR ResourcesThese links are either to Web pages hosted on the FAIR Website, or to FAIR Papers. FAIR Papers are short articles about specific topics or questions, written by members of FAIR. These articles can be downloaded and read in PDF format and are intended to be distributed by e-mail or print for the general use of our patrons. (To read FAIR Papers you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. It can be downloaded free from the Adobe Web site.) Click on a title below to visit a FAIR Web page or to read the latest version of a FAIR Paper. Richard Lloyd Anderson, "Explaining Away the Book of Mormon Witnesses," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, August 2004) Richard Lloyd Anderson discusses the strength and consistency of the Book of Mormon witnesses and responds to common criticisms of their testimonies. (2004 FAIR Conference presentation.) Michael R. Ash, "Book of Mormon Witnesses, Part 1: Motives," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, March 2003) FAIR Brochure. Critics often dismiss the first-hand testimonies of Book of Mormon witnesses by questioning their motives. Michael R. Ash, "Book of Mormon Witnesses, Part 2: Oliver Cowdery," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, March 2003) FAIR Brochure. Because Oliver Cowdery had a falling out with Joseph Smith and left the Church for a time, should his testimony of the Book of Mormon be suspect? Michael R. Ash, "Book of Mormon Witnesses, Part 3: Martin Harris," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, March 2003) FAIR Brochure. Martin Harris, a witness to the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, has been maligned and dismissed by critics. What is the real story? Michael R. Ash, "Book of Mormon Witnesses, Part 4: David Whitmer," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, March 2003) FAIR Brochure. David Whitmer left the Church and never rejoined. Did he recant his testimony of the Book of Mormon? Michael R. Ash, "The Book of Mormon," Mormonism 201 (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR) Ash rebuts the charges made in Mormonism 101 concerning the Book of Mormon (including issues, such as, the Three Witness, the Fullness and the Fullness of the Gospel). Encyclopedia of MormonismThe resources listed below are articles available in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. These links are to information not located on the FAIR Web site. Richard Lloyd Anderson, "Book of Mormon Witnesses," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 214-216 Ensign ArticlesThese articles cited below provide information on the topic of this page. The Ensign is one of the official publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When you click on one of the article links below, you are whisked to the article found in the archives of the Church's Web site. Richard Lloyd Anderson, "Did Oliver Cowdery, one of the three special Book of Mormon witnesses, express doubt about his testimony?," Ensign, April 1987, 23. Monte S. Nyman, "Why were the Book of Mormon gold plates not placed in a museum so that people might know Joseph Smith had them?," Ensign, December 1986, 64. Keith W. Perkins, "Some historical records indicate that Mary Musselman Whitmer was privileged to see the gold plates, in addition to Joseph Smith and the Three and Eight Witnesses. Do we know of any other persons who may have seen or handled the plates?," Ensign, July 1992, 53. Keith W. Perkins, "True to the Book of Mormon--The Whitmers," Ensign, February 1989, 34. At least seven members of the Whitmer family saw the gold plates. If the family history is correct, the mother was also so privileged. Thomas G. Truitt, "Was Martin Harris ever excommunicated from the Church?," Ensign, June 1979, 33. A question about one of the Book of Mormon Witnesses. Other ResourcesThe resources listed below are related items available on the Web that should be of interest. These links are to information not located on the FAIR Web site. "The Charles Anthon and Martin Harris Anthology," Compiled by Sam Katich (November 2002) A collection of articles about Martin Harris and his visit to Charles Anthon. Richard Lloyd Anderson, "Attempts to Redefine the Experience of the Eight Witnesses," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2005), 18-31 LDS historian, Richard Anderson, explorers the currently popular critical argument that the eleven Book of Mormon witnesses did not actually see real plates but that, instead, they simply saw imaginary plates while in a visionary state. Richard L. Anderson, "Testimonies of the Book of Mormon Witnesses," (Provo, UT: FARMS) In this audio presentation, Anderson looks at the testimonies of the Book of Mormon witnesses and how the witnesses continued to maintain the accuracy of their testimonies throughout their lives. Michael R. Ash, David Whitmer. Michael R. Ash, Martin Harris. Michael R. Ash, Oliver Cowdery. Michael R. Ash, The Three Witnesses. Brent Ashworth, "Martin Harris's 1873 Letter to Walter Conrad," BYU Studies (Provo, UT: BYU) A declaration signed by Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer and published in the Book of Mormon has come to be known as “The Testimony of Three Witnesses.” In the following letter to Walter Conrad, Martin Harris, reaffirms this testimony. The letter, written in 1873, forty-four years after Harris’s original witness and just two and one-half years before his death, is the last known signed affirmation by him of his experience with the gold plates of the Book of Mormon. Although Martin Harris, Sr., left the Church within a decade of this vision, he never denied his testimony that an angel of the Lord showed him the gold plates and the voice of the Lord bore divine witness of them. Davis Bitton and Gary Bunker, "Mesmerism and Mormonism," BYU Studies, Vol. 15:2 (1975) On 2 May 1842 the Times and Seasons reprinted an article from the New York Weekly Herald which suggested that Joseph Smith was, unknowingly, practicing animal magnetism. This was the first effort to explain Mormonism in terms of animal magnetism, mesmerism, or their more respectable counterpart, hypnotism. Since Church leaders made repeated efforts to discourage any participation in such experiments, the persistence of claims that Mormonism relied on the powers of mesmerism is ironic to say the least. It was not the first time, nor the last, that Mormons were accused of practices they had clearly opposed. It is another instance of the wide chasm separating the Mormon religion and its history from the images purveyed in popular writings that established the stereotype of Mormonism. Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter, ""For the Sum of Three Thousand Dollars"," JBMS (City Unknown: FARMS), 4-11 Black and Porter examine the details surrounding Martin Harris' financial contribution to publish the Book of Mormon. Scott H. Faulring, "The Return of Oliver Cowdery," (Provo, Utah: FARMS) Historical evidences related to Oliver Cowdery's rebaptism in the Church. Kirk B. Henrichsen, "How Witnesses Describe the "Gold Plates"," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (Provo: FARMS, 2001), 16-21 Larry E. Morris, "Oliver Cowdery's Vermont Years and the Origins of Mormonism," BYU Studies, Vol. 39:1 (200), 105-129 Cowdery biographers have generally repeated a few brief facts before darting to Oliver�s initial meeting with Joseph Smith in April 1829. A close look at the record, however, reveals a rich family history�a history that includes the death of Oliver�s mother, the blending of three families, four moves between two states, and a plague that took a dear aunt and uncle. All of these details in turn shed light on two controversial theories bearing on the origins of Mormonism. The first alleges that Joseph Smith Sr. and William Cowdery participated in a divining-rod incident known as the �Wood Scrape,� forming associations that impacted their sons� founding of the Church a quarter of a century later. The second purports that young Oliver knew minister Ethan Smith, read his work View of the Hebrews, and passed on knowledge of the book�or a copy of the book itself�to Joseph, who borrowed freely from it in producing the Book of Mormon. Both theories have spawned considerable discussion and research. The well-documented history of the William Cowdery family in Vermont, however, shows that both theories are long on speculation and short on fact. Larry E. Morris, "The Conversion of Oliver Cowdery," JBMS (City Unknown: FARMS, 2007) Larry Morris does a wonderful and thorough job detailing the events of Oliver's first encounter with Joseph and the Book of Mormon as well as his subsequent conversion. Matthew Roper, "Comments on the Book of Mormon Witnesses: A Response to Jerald and Sandra Tanner," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (Provo: FARMS, 1993), 164-193
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